Tokyo Mew Mew: Black Licorice
by YinYangWriter
Summary: Just when things quiet down, an old enemy from Ryou's father's past resurfaces. Can the Mews defeat their new enemies?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a quick story I wrote with "Magicfire". We hope you enjoy it and please review.**

* * *

><p>"Keiichiro, we're back!" called Berry as she and Tasuku entered Café Mew Mew on their roller blades. They had just finished one delivery and were ready for the next.<p>

"Okay," called Keiichiro, putting the finishing touches on their next order, a cake.

Ichigo smiled at them. "I see you two are getting along well," she said.

"We always do," said Tasuku with a big smile on his face. He gave Berry a hug.

Ichigo cringed when she heard a plate break. "Ah, well, back to work," she said, turning to see if it was Pudding or Lettuce who made the mess. "At least things are normal."

"Define normal," said Ryou.

Ichigo shot him a glare and continued to work.

Keiichiro came out and gave Tasuku and Berry their next order.

"I'm glad things are working out for them," said Mint, sitting at a table and drinking her afternoon tea.

"Me, too," said Ichigo, watching Berry and Tasuku leave. She whipped around to Mint. "Hey, you could be helping me since Zakuro isn't here!"

"It's my tea time," said Mint cooly.

"I don't know why it always seems like you're sitting around drinking tea," muttered Ichigo.

"Did you say something?" asked Mint.

"Nothing!" Ichigo quickly said.

Pudding jumped over an empty table. "So, Ichigo! When's your next date with Masaya?"

"It's none of your business," said Ichigo. "Some things I want to keep private."

"Aw, come on," whined Pudding. "Just one little juicy tidbit. Just one!"

"No!" said Ichigo.

"Leave her alone, Pudding," said Lettuce. "We have work to do."

"That's right!" said Pudding. "Time for my show!"

"No! No show!" said Ichigo. "I get stuck cleaning up the mess!"

Two girls who looked exactly alike came into the café. They both had the same orangish-red hair and brown eyes. The similarities stopped there. One girl had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. The other had her hair pulled back with a hair claw and was wearing nice shirt and skirt. Lettuce seated them, gave them menus, and took their drink orders.

"I'll have a diet soda, please," said the girl in the skirt.

"Water with lemon for me," said the girl with the ponytail.

"Coming right up," said Lettuce.

The two girls sat there not saying anything to each other. The girl with the ponytail scratched at her bare leg and adjusted her sock while she looked at the menu. The girl in the skirt examined her fingernails.

Lettuce carefully brought out their drinks and set them on the table. "Can I take your orders?"

"A slice of raspberry cheesecake," said the girl with the ponytail.

"Nothing for me, thank you," said the girl in the skirt.

The girl with the ponytail glared at the girl in the skirt. "You always get nothing. You get your diet soda and that's the end of it."

"I need to watch my weight," defended the girl in the skirt.

"Weight, nothing," said the girl with the ponytail.

"Your order will be out in a minute, miss," said Lettuce, anxious to get away from the table before a fight started.

"You keep this up and you'll be nothing but bone, Momo," said the girl with the ponytail.

"Just drop it, Anzu," said the girl in the skirt.

Anzu and Momo Orenjikumo looked exactly alike and that's where the similarities ended.

"I'm not going to drop it," said Anzu. "You need to eat. How does your coach expect you to compete when you barely have enough energy to get up in the morning?"

"How does your coach expect you to compete when you run yourself ragged?" Momo calmly retaliated.

"At least I take care of myself," grumbled Anzu.

"With sweets?" asked Momo. "Oh, yes, that's taking care of yourself."

"I'm not starving," Anzu shot back.

"Neither am I," said Momo. She sipped her soda.

"What?" asked Anzu. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. Your weight less than we did when we entered middle school."

"And you weigh more," Momo said levelly.

"Huh?" Anzu's cheeks turned red. "It's all muscle! I'm the fastest at school."

"Third fastest," corrected Momo. "Kotone and Akane are faster than you."

Anzu growled.

"Here you go, ladies!" The twins were surprised as Pudding swooped in and placed Anzu's cheesecake in front of her. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask!"

Anzu watched Pudding cartwheel away. "What a little monkey," she said.

"There's a girl who knows her acrobatics," said Momo with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Anzu, whipping around to her sister. "You're amazing and you know it. You can beat the pants off that girl." Anzu motioned to Pudding who was currently spinning plates on thin poles.

"I am not perfect," said Momo.

Anzu scoffed. "Those gymnastics people expect perfection, but there is no such thing." She took a stab at her cheesecake.

"I can try," defended Momo.

"They're setting you up to fail," Anzu said with her food pressed to one cheek so she could talk.

"Oh, please don't talk with your mouth full," said Momo with a disgusted look.

Anzu made a face and swallowed her cheesecake.

Ichigo and the others were standing back watching the exchange between the two girls.

"They are not happy," said Lettuce.

"Brr! I think the building got colder," said Ichigo.

"I thought it got hotter," said Pudding.

"Either way, it is an unnecessary display," said Mint. "Let's ignore them."

* * *

><p>Anzu and Momo walked home, still snapping at each other unnecessarily. They went into their apartment and went to their rooms. Anzu's room was a complete mess while Momo's room was spotless.<p>

They didn't say anything to each other when they went to watch the evening news later that night. They wanted to see pictures and videos of the Mew Mews. The Mew Mews hadn't been showing up as much as of late and it was a treat for the twins to see them on television.

"Wouldn't it be so cool to be Mew?" Anzu asked Momo.

"It could be difficult to balance school and saving the world," said Momo.

Anzu scoffed. "Always the realist."

"Always the dreamer," Momo sniped back.

Anzu glared in Momo's direction and said nothing more.

* * *

><p>The next morning Anzu and Momo walked to school.<p>

"Excuse me, ladies."

The twins turned around to see a man in his fifties with gray hair and glasses. He was sharply dressed in a business suit.

"My name is Dr. Kurogumo," said the man. "My colleagues and I are working on a project. We are studying the behavioral interactions between twins. May I have a few moments of your time?"

Anzu and Momo looked at each other.

"We'll be late," said Momo.

Anzu did not care. She could run much faster than Momo.

"We can discuss this when you get out of class this afternoon," said Dr. Kurogumo.

"That will be better for us," said Momo.

"Thank you, ladies," said Dr. Kurogumo.

Momo smiled. "You're welcome. Come on, Anzu. We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

* * *

><p>The school day passed Anzu and Momo by quickly. They wanted to talk to the doctor and be part of his research. When they left the school, they found Dr. Kurogumo sitting on a bench across the street.<p>

"Good afternoon, ladies," he said.

"Good afternoon," said Momo.

"So what did you want to talk about?" asked Anzu.

Dr. Kurogumo looked at Anzu.

"You'll have to forgive my sister," said Momo. "She did not learn proper manners."

"It's perfectly fine," said Dr. Kurogumo. "It's our differences that set us apart. I would like you to start by describing each other." He took an audio recorder from his pocket. "Do you mind if I record this conversation? It will save me from writing down everything on paper."

"Not at all," said Momo.

"Now state your names for the record," said Dr. Kurogumo.

"Anzu Orenjikumo."

"Momo Orenjikumo."

"Anzu, how would you describe your sister?" asked Dr. Kurogumo.

"She's a neat freak and a perfectionist," said Anzu. "She's always planning things down to the last detail. She concerned about her weight because she's a gymnast and is always trying to be perfect."

"Momo, how would you describe Anzu?" asked Dr. Kurogumo.

"She's impatient and a slob," said Momo. "She is also very opinionated. She likes things fast-paced and goes along with things even if she doesn't understand them."

"What do you two like to do together?" asked Dr. Kurogumo.

The twins looked at each other.

"Nothing, really," said Anzu. "We're always trying to be individuals and we do different activities."

"The only thing we seem to agree about is liking the Mew Mews," said Momo.

"You like the Mew Mews?" asked Dr. Kurogumo.

"Yes," replied the twins.

Dr. Kurogumo smiled and there was a dark twinkle in his brown eyes. "Perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

It was track and field day at Okumura Daifuzoku Junior High School. The girls were getting ready to run the one hundred meter dash. Kotone and Akane, the two fastest girls, were at the starting line. They looked at each other.

"Where's Anzu?" asked Akane. "She should be here."

Kotone just shrugged.

The starting pistol fired and the runners sprinted from the starting line. There was an orangish-yellow blur shot passed all the runners. The girls screamed and stopped. Standing in front of them was a girl wearing an orangish-yellow tank top and short shorts. Her boots came up over her knees and there was a garter belt on her left thigh. She had rounded animal ears poking out of her orangish blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail with a ribbon and a spotted tail that flicked behind her. Her golden eyes were bright and she wore a sneer on her face.

"Who is that?" asked one girl.

"Is that a new Mew Mew?" asked another.

The strange cat-girl held out her hand and a ball of light formed. It took the shape of a pistol with a ribbon tied around it and the girl twirled it in her hand. She then pointed it at Kotone and Akane. The two of them backed away with horrified looks.

"Apricot Blast!" said the girl and fired her pistol. The pistol fired twice.

* * *

><p>Inside the gymnasium, the gymnastics club was holding a meet.<p>

Appearing in the middle of the floor was a girl wearing a orangish pink leotard and a miniskirt pulled over top. She had a garter belt in the same color on her left leg and her boots came up to her knees. Poking out of her orangish blonde hair that was pulled in a french braid were a pair of pointed animal ears. Behind her flicked a long spotted tail.

"Who are you?" demanded the coach, annoyed that someone crashed their meet.

The girl leapt into the air and landed on the beam. A ball of light formed in her hand. It took the shape of a folding fan. The girl opened it to reveal the kanji for peach.

"Peach Blossom Storm!" she cried, swinging her fan. There was a bright burst of light and peach blossom petals flew everywhere.

* * *

><p>Ryou was sitting in stunned silence as a news report said that two Mew Mews attacked the Okumura Daifuzoku Junior High School. The report stated that two similar looking Mews attacked the students without any provocation. Ryou knew it wasn't any of the Mew Mews. They were all working at the café today.<p>

Ryou got up and went to the door. "Keiichiro! Come take a look at this."

Keiichiro came back from the kitchen. "What is it?" he asked.

"Take a look at this," said Ryou, turning up the news report.

"Two new Mews?" asked Keiichiro. "It can't be. We haven't tried to create any more since Berry."

"But someone has," said Ryou.

"I'll get the girls," said Keiichiro. "This is going to be a nightmare."

Ryou nodded.

The Mews came in and Ryou showed them the news report.

"You say one of us did this?" asked Berry.

"Who would do such a thing?" asked Pudding.

"I don't know, girls," said Keiichiro. "But we have to find out."

"Right!" said Ichigo. "We'll check out the school and see if we can find out who those two were."

"I know some people there," said Lettuce.

"That's right," said Mint. "You used to go to school there."

"We better hurry," said Zakuro.

The six girls went to the Okumura Daifuzoku Junior High School. They quickly learned that some students were targeted. No one was severely injured, just enough to be sent to the hospital to get checked out.

The Mews all got the same reports. Two girls attacked them, one on the track field and the other in the gymnasium. They never said anything except for shouting out their attacks. One girl had a pistol weapon and the other had a folding fan.

The girls later regrouped and went over what they knew.

"So we have two girls masquerading as Mews," said Mint, putting a finger to her chin in thought.

"They could be aliens," said Lettuce.

"Let's check back with Ryou and Keiichiro," said Berry. "Let them know what we found."

The six of them walked back to the café.

* * *

><p>In the basement lab, Ryou and Keiichiro were going over the news reports.<p>

"This is very bad," said Keiichiro with a shake of his head. "The public loves the Mew Mews. This will seriously hurt them. If they are needed again, the public won't trust them."

"I think the public's opinion is the least of our problems," said Ryou. He looked up from the television screens to Keiichiro. "This is familiar, isn't it?"

Keiichiro thought for a moment. He gasped. "Not him."

"I don't know if it's him or not, but if it is, we have to stop him before he hurts someone else," said Ryou.

The Mew Mews returned to the café and reported to Keiichiro and Ryou.

"What should we do now?" asked Berry after they finished telling them.

"For now, the only thing we can do is monitor what is going on," said Ryou. "You probably will have to fight them in the future."

"But they are our kind," argued Ichigo.

"How can we fight our friends?" asked Pudding.

"Right now, it doesn't appear that they are our friends," said Ryou.

"Ryou, you're cold," snapped Ichigo.

"Easy, Ichigo," said Lettuce. "They may be like me. Remember I hurt people because I was scared and confused about what was happening? They may be doing the same thing, only focusing on certain people."

"Hopefully this was a once and done deal," said Zakuro. "They got their revenge or whatever. Maybe they'll settle down and we won't hear from them again."

"Zakuro's right," said Mint.

"What are the chances that won't happen?" asked Ichigo.

"Ichigo has a point," said Keiichiro. "These two may come back and hurt someone else. This attack was probably the most predictable. The next will be more random."

"For now, all we can do is sit and wait," said Ryou. "Go home, girls."

The Mews looked at each other before leaving the café for the day.

* * *

><p>At an undisclosed location, Anzu and Momo were testing out their new abilities.<p>

"Very good, girls," said Dr. Kurogumo. "You are doing very well. Soon you'll be ready for your next mission."

Both girls looked at him with darkened eyes. Attached to the napes of their necks was a black spider, hidden beneath their hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Berry was woken up in the middle of the night to Ryou's voice coming from Ucha.

"Berry, wake up!" said Ryou. Ucha projected a hologram of Ryou. "Those two Mews are back. They are destroying the docks. I'll call Ichigo. You get the others and hurry!"

"Okay," said Berry.

Berry jumped out of bed and morphed into Mew Berry.

* * *

><p>The six Mew Mews met at the Tokyo Harbor and saw the two strange Mews destroying everything in sight.<p>

"Hey, you!" cried Berry. "Stop!"

The two Mews turned to her.

"I think you got their attention," said Ichigo.

"Now what?" asked Lettuce.

One strange Mew called upon a pistol and the other a folding fan.

"We fight!" said Zakuro. She took out her whip.

The others took out their weapons as well.

"Apricot Blast!" shouted the girl with the pistol and fired.

"Peach Blossom Storm!" cried the girl with the fan, creating a gale with.

The other Mews were knocked back. They hurried to get to their feet.

"We'll teach you not to mess with us!" said Ichigo. "For your evil actions, we'll make you pay!"

The two strange Mew Mews looked at each other and smirked. The one with the pistol was a orangish-yellow blur as she ran at the Mew Mews.

"Look out!" cried Pudding.

Lettuce turned. "Ribbon Lettuce Rush!"

The pistol wielding Mew easily stepped out of the way of the attack. She ran up to Lettuce and slammed her leg into her stomach.

"Lettuce!" the others cried as Lettuce went flying.

"She's fast!" said Mint.

"We have to do something," said Zakuro. "Ribbon Zakuro Pure!"

The orangish-yellow Mew jumped back and growled at Zakuro.

The other Mew, the one with the fan, landed in front of Zakuro and kicked her weapon from her hand. She kicked Zakuro's legs out from under her.

"Zakuro!" cried Mint. She aim her bow at the Mew attacking Zakuro. "Ribbon Mint Echo!"

The Mew with the fan looked over her shoulder and jumped straight into the air, jumping much higher than anyone anticipated.

Berry was the first to recover from the shock. "If she can make it, so can I," she said. Berry jumped into the air. "Ribbon Loveberry Check!"

The Mew with the fan had nowhere to go. She took the full force of the blast.

"Pudding! Your turn!" Berry shouted.

"Okay!" Pudding had her rings ready. "Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!"

There was a blur of orangish-yellow and the Mew with the fan disappeared. Pudding's attack missed.

Ichigo turned and saw both strange Mews several yards away, the pistol wielding Mew holding her partner. "You're not getting away," she said. "Strawberry Bell Check!"

Ichigo's attack created a small explosion.

"Did you hit them?" asked Berry.

The dust settled and there was no one there.

Ichigo growled. "I missed," she said.

"They're gone now," said Zakuro.

"What do you think they were doing here?" asked Lettuce.

"It looks like they were just making a general mess of things," said Berry, surveying the damage.

"Ladies." Ucha projected a hologram of Keiichiro. "Meet us at the café. We'll try to piece things together."

* * *

><p>Anzu and Momo returned to base where Dr. Kurogumo was waiting.<p>

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

Anzu, supporting Momo, shook her head. "We are not ready."

Dr. Kurogumo growled in frustration. "Next time, don't come back until they are destroyed!"

"Understood, sir," said Anzu.

* * *

><p>Back at Café Mew Mew, the girls were standing downstairs with Keiichiro and Ryou.<p>

"I think I know who is behind this," said Ryou.

"You do?" asked Lettuce.

"Who is it?" asked Pudding.

"And old rival of my father's," explained Ryou. He typed on the keyboard and a picture of a man in his forties came up on screen. He had graying hair and dark eyes. "His name is Jiro Kurogumo. He and my father were trying to create what are now the Mew Mews — you."

"He was part of your father's research team?" asked Mint.

"He was a competitor," said Ryou. "And not a very nice man. He tested his work on humans before it was deemed safe. Granted, you girls were an accident, but at least we knew it was safe."

"So the two girls we're fighting are like us?" asked Lettuce. "They're Mews, too?"

"Yes," replied Keiichiro. "Ucha and Masha recorded your battle with them tonight."

Keiichiro typed on the keyboard and the video of their fight came up on screen. The girls flinched and cringed as they got pummeled.

"But how do you know it's Dr. Kurogumo?" asked Ichigo.

"Because of this." Ryou paused the video when one Mews back was turned. He zoomed in to the back of her neck.

"What is that?" asked Mint.

Pudding squinted. "It looks like a black spider," she said.

"That's what it is," said Ryou.

"Ew!" cried the girls.

"I assumed that those spiders are like Masha and Ucha," said Keiichiro. "They monitor what is going on and send back data."

"But the black spider was Dr. Kurogumo's calling cards," said Ryou.

"But that still does not tell us who the new Mews are," said Zakuro.

Keiichiro did a bit of typing. "I did a little bit of research after the attack at the Okumura Daifuzoku High School." School pictures of two girls in Okumura Daifuzoku High School uniforms appeared on screen. "These two are Anzu and Momo Orenjikumo."

"They're twins," observed Pudding.

"And both disappeared a couple days ago," said Keiichiro. "Anzu was on the track team and Momo was part of the gymnastics club."

"But why would they attack their classmates?" asked Berry. "It makes no sense."

"I guess you'll have to ask them when you see them," said Ryou.

The six girls frowned.

Keiichiro gave a soft smile. "You will have to convince them to join our side. They cannot go around destroying whatever they please."

"So we make friends with the girls who tried to destroy us?" asked Mint.

Berry smiled. "That's a great idea." The others turned to her. "Think about it: their speed and agility will help us in the future if we need to fight together to save the world."

"Berry's right," said Ichigo.

Mint yawned. "Right now, let's go to bed," she said. "I need my beauty sleep."

"And we need to go to school tomorrow," groaned Berry.

"Hopefully it won't be a busy day at the café," said Keiichiro. "And Tasuku can pick up the slack."


	4. Chapter 4

Dr. Kurogumo paced as he thought out loud. "So, even with my best work, Shirogane still bests me. Not for long. Once I am able to create a more powerful bio-engineered warrior, Shirogane will know that I am better than him. Far better."

Dr. Kurogumo turned to Anzu and Momo. They were sitting, watching him with blank looks.

"You two," he said.

They looked up at him.

"We will have to take a more direct approach," said Dr. Kurogumo. "We let them come to us. That failed."

Momo hung her head. It was her fault that they lost the battle, or at least that's what Dr. Kurogumo said.

"This time, let's take the fight to them," said Dr. Kurogumo.

Momo and Anzu focused on the doctor.

"Yes, let's take the fight to them," said Dr. Kurogumo. "Shirogane and his assistant run a café. Café Mew Mew. We will attack them there, when they least expect it. Ladies."

Anzu and Momo stood and transformed.

"Go," said Dr. Kurogumo. "Attack and destroy the Mews."

The girls nodded and disappeared.

Dr. Kurogumo walked into another room of his laboratory. There were cages full of animals. They growled, screeched, and chirped when he entered.

"If those two can't handle the Mew Mews, then I will have to take a different approach," said Dr. Kurogumo. He looked at the beakers full of fluids on the lab table. "The genetics of the cheetah and the leopard may not be enough. The one Mew has two animal genes inside of her."

He hummed to himself.

"Perhaps I can do the same," said Dr. Kurogumo. "Not with the twins. The genes have to bond with the subject at the same time. I'll need a new subject. If these two girls cannot complete this next mission, then I have failed and I'll move on to the next experiment."

* * *

><p>Berry and Ichigo were working hard at the café. The other girls were doing their usual thing: Mint was drinking her tea, Lettuce was dropping dishes, Pudding was preforming tricks, and Zakuro was messing up orders. Tasuku was out running a delivery. The only reason why Berry wasn't with him was because they were so busy.<p>

Lettuce was at the front getting ready to seat someone. She looked up and saw Masaya, Ichigo's boyfriend.

"Hello, Masaya!" she said.

"Hi, Lettuce," said Masaya. "Is Ichigo here?"

"Yes, but we're busy," said Lettuce.

"I can see," said Masaya. "I can wait for her."

Pudding flipped around in the air and landed in front of them. "Hi, Masaya! Ichigo! Your boyfriend's here!"

This got Mint and Zakuro's attention. Ichigo came rushing out of the kitchen to see Mint and Zakuro serving Masaya.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

Mint turned to her. "What does it look like? We're helping you," she said. "You're always saying that we don't help you."

"I can take care of my own boyfriend!" said Ichigo, her face turning scarlet.

Berry laughed. She turned back to what she was doing.

"Hey, Berry!" Tasuku had returned and skated around the table she was serving. "That was my last delivery. Need some help?"

"Please," said Berry. "Ask Ichigo where she wants you to be."

"Okay," said Tasuku. He skated away and over to Ichigo.

Berry went back to work. She put her head up and frowned. That was weird. She thought she heard something outside with her rabbit hearing. She listened closely. She shrugged. Perhaps she was wrong.

There was a sudden explosion the rocked the building. Plates and dishes went crashing to the floor. Berry reached out and grabbed a table to steady herself. People started yelling and some ran to the windows to see what was going on outside.

"What was that?" cried Pudding.

Zakuro ran for the window. Being taller than the other girls she could stand on her toes and see over everyone else's heads. Outside were the twin Mews. One had her pistol out and ready to fire. The other was holding her fan.

"It's them," Zakuro said to the others.

"Then you better go," said Keiichiro. Ryou was standing beside him. "Remember, you have to befriend them."

"But don't let them cause too much damage," said Ryou.

"Right," said Ichigo with a determined look.

"Be careful, Ichigo," Masaya said to her.

Ichigo blushed. "I promise I will be."

"You, too, Berry," said Tasuku.

Berry blushed and nodded.

"Let's go!" said Mint.

Outside the twins were continuing to destroy the area.

"Anzu! Momo! Stop!" yelled Ichigo.

The twins turned to the Mews. The twin with the pistol sneered. She pointed her weapon and fired.

The Mews jumped out of the way.

Lettuce turned and saw the twin with the fan come at her. Lettuce was kicked in the stomach.

"Hey!" said Pudding. She had her rings in her hands. "You don't treat a friend like that! Pudding Ring Inferno!"

The twin with the fan easily twisted and flipped out of the way.

The Mews regrouped.

"Any ideas of how to take them?" asked Zakuro.

"Three of us can take Anzu and three of us can take Momo," said Berry.

"Just one question," said Ichigo. "Which is which?"

Mint let out an annoyed sigh. "Weren't you listening? Anzu is a track star. She's the one with the starter pistol. Momo has the fan." She gave Ichigo a bitter look. "That should be obvious by the kanji 'Peach' on her fan. Dummy!"

"Oops, silly me," said Ichigo.

"Let's worry about these two first," said Berry. "I'll go after Momo."

"Pudding and I can come with you," said Lettuce.

"Zakuro, Mint, and I will go after Anzu," said Ichigo. "Let's go!"

They divided, Berry, Pudding, and Lettuce going after Momo and Ichigo, Mint, and Zakuro going after Anzu.

"Loveberry Check!" cried Berry, attacking Momo.

Momo simply jumped into the air.

"Lettuce Rush!" Lettuce attacked and Momo once again dodged, jumping much higher into the air.

Berry looked over her shoulder. "Now, Pudding!"

"You got it!" Pudding attacked. "Pudding Ring Inferno!"

Momo could not get out of the way. She was trapped by Pudding's attack.

"We got one!" cheered Pudding.

Anzu, who was fending off the remaining Mews turned and let out a growl. She charged over to where her sister was captured.

"Oh, no, you don't," said Mint. "Mint Arrow!"

Anzu slowed and changed direction to avoid being hit by the arrow. A purple rope wrapped around Anzu's ankle and yanked her foot out from under her.

"You won't get away that easily," said Zakuro, pulling Anzu over to her.

Anzu snarled and pointed her pistol at Zakuro. It was promptly knocked out of her hand by Ichigo's attack.

Ichigo walked over to Anzu. "We don't want to fight you," she said. "We want to be your friends."

Ryou and Keiichiro came running out of the café.

"Ichigo!" called Ryou. "It won't do any good. You have to get the spiders off them first!"

Ichigo reached behind Anzu and pulled the black spider from her neck. There was an instant change. Anzu blinked and looked around, confused.

Berry did the same thing with Momo.

"What is going on?" asked Anzu.

"It's a long story," said Ichigo with a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

"No!" shouted Dr. Kurogumo. Beakers went crashing to the floor as he swept his arm angrily across the lab table. "They got them and got my mind controlling devices off them. Curse you, Shirogane!"

Dr. Kurogumo calmed himself. "No matter," he said. "I still have more tricks up my sleeve."

He reached over and picked up a syringe. "Never send children to do an adult's work." Dr. Kurogumo smiled wickedly.

* * *

><p>"We did what?" asked Anzu.<p>

Ryou, Keiichiro, and the Mews were in the downstairs laboratory. Anzu and Momo were just told what had happened the last few days. They had little memory after Dr. Kurogumo introduced himself and asked them if they wanted to be Mew Mews.

"Aw, man, sorry," said Anzu.

"We wanted to be like you," said Momo. "Looking back, it was stupid to believe such a thing. We should have never taken his offer, Anzu."

"Yeah," said Anzu. "What were we thinking?"

"Well, let's not dwell on what cannot be changed," said Keiichiro. "Do you remember anything about where his lab may be?"

The twins shook their heads.

"There must be something," said Berry. "A sign that you saw all the time? A smell?"

"What part of 'we can't remember' don't you get?" snapped Anzu.

"Anzu, stop it," said Momo. "Getting snippy with her isn't going to solve anything."

Anzu growled at Momo. Momo turned away from her sister with a dignified look.

"There isn't much I remember," said Momo. "But I believe there was a backup plan of some sort if we failed."

"Ah, I remember that!" said Anzu. "I heard him talking about another test subject. I don't know who. I can't remember if there was someone else there besides us."

"We better find Dr. Kurogumo," said Ryou. "You were compatible with your animal genes, just like the others. If Dr. Kurogumo injects the genes into someone who is not compatible, it could prove deadly."

"Are you sure that you don't remember anything else?" asked Ichigo.

"Chicken," said Momo.

"Chicken?" everyone asked, including Anzu.

"I remember smelling chicken," said Momo. "All the time."

Anzu laughed. "You've been starving yourself to keep yourself on the gymnastics team. It would make sense that you would try to find food."

Momo gave Anzu a light glare.

"Now that you say something, I remember smelling chicken, too," said Anzu. "He never gave us chicken to eat. I think it was coming from above us."

"So the lab is under a place where they make chicken," said Lettuce.

"It was fried chicken, too," said Momo. "I remember thinking that there was no way I could eat that without putting on weight."

Keiichiro sat down at the computer console and began a search. "There are many places where fried chicken is sold. Can you narrow it down?"

Anzu and Momo looked at each other.

"It didn't take us long to get back to the lab from the docks," said Anzu. "I was carrying Momo so I wasn't running as fast as I could."

"Do you know how fast you were running?" asked Keiichiro.

"Faster than most of the cars, but I was on rooftops, too," said Anzu.

Keiichiro narrowed it down. "It's too wide a search area," he said with a shake of his head. "If we had more information, we would be able to narrow it down some more."

"Maybe if we go around the city, something will jog your memories," said Mint.

"That's a great idea," Ichigo said.

"Let's go," said Zakuro. "We don't have much time."

"Right!" they all agreed with a nod.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later the Mew Mews were at the harbor.<p>

"I remember the fight," said Anzu.

"Me, too," said Momo. She pointed. "Over there's where you picked me up, Anzu."

Anzu ran over to where she remembered grabbing her sister and pulling her out of harm's way. She looked around. Finally she pointed across the harbor.

"I ran that way," she said.

"Okay," said Ichigo.

They morphed and took to the rooftops.

"Now where?" asked Berry.

Momo and Anzu looked around.

"I think you went that way," said Momo, pointing to the southwest.

"No," said Anzu. "It was that way." She pointed to the northwest.

"No, I'm sure you went that way," said Momo.

"You were barely conscious," argued Anzu. "How would you know which way I ran? I ran that way! I know I did!"

"Girls!" said Berry. "Less fighting, more remembering."

Anzu and Momo glared at each other.

"You know, they work better together when they're brainwashed," said Pudding to Lettuce.

Lettuce nodded. "It's sad. Sisters shouldn't fight like this."

"Yeah," said Pudding. "My siblings fight, but never like this. It's like they're doing it just to make the other mad."

"You know," said Momo. "Now that I think of it, you would have gone that direction. I would have taken a different route so as not to lead them back to the hideout. You would have run back as fast as you could and ignore such maneuvers."

The way Momo said it was insulting. Anzu growled at her sister.

"Enough," said Zakuro. "You fight like children over petty things. There's a life at stake. Stop fighting and let's find Dr. Kurogumo before he hurts someone else."

Anzu and Momo's ears drooped in defeat. They would put their fighting aside for now, but it was going to be a brawl when this was all over.

Anzu began to run and jump from one rooftop to another.

"Slow down!" cried Berry. "We can't keep up."

"It may be better this way," said Momo. "If Anzu can remember how much time she took trying to get from the harbor to the hideout, we can narrow our search area."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later they caught up with Anzu. She had stopped on top of a tall building and she was surveying the area below her.<p>

"I smell chicken," said Anzu.

Momo sniffed. "You're right. I smell it, too."

"This must be the place," said Ichigo.

"But which building is the hideout?" asked Mint.

"Look for the restaurant serving the fried chicken," said Berry. "It should lead us in the right direction."

The Mews went to street level and changed back into their everyday forms. Anzu and Momo led the way. They found the restaurant that served the fried chicken. Momo walked behind the building.

"Did you find something?" asked Mint.

The others followed Momo behind the building.

"Does this stairwell look familiar?" Momo asked Anzu.

Anzu stood beside her sister and looked at the exterior stairwell that led below the building.

"Yes," she answered. "This is it."

"Okay," said Berry. "Now what do we do?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo. "We stop him."

"We can't just go bursting in there," said Berry. "Can we?"

There was a rumble and a howl from beneath them. They all turned to the stairwell.

"I don't like the sound of that," said Pudding.

"I don't like the smell of it," said Zakuro, backing up.

There was an explosion. The Mew Mews went tumbling back. Dust filled the air, making it difficult to breathe and reduced visibility to zero.

"What was that?" asked Ichigo, her arm to her mouth to breathe through her sleeve.

There was a feline snarl from Anzu and a hiss from Momo. There was another snarl from something else, something larger and more dangerous.

"Let's go, ladies," said Ichigo. "Strawberry metamorphose!"

The others followed Ichigo's lead. Momo took out her fan and attacked, mostly just to clear the dust away. What they saw shocked them. Coming out of the dust was a beast ten feet tall with fur, feathers, and scales. The eyes were mismatched, one feline and gold, and one pure black. It had a muzzle like a dog or a wolf and the teeth were like a shark's with several rows. The hands were talons and the feet were horselike. A fox like tail swished madly behind it.

"What is that?" asked Mint.

"Hello, girls," snarled the beast.

"Omigod, it's Dr. Kurogumo," said Momo in horror.

"That's the doctor?" cried Berry.

"What do you think?" asked Dr. Kurogumo, motioning to himself. He smirked. "What? How am I so different from you? You have animal genes in you as well. And you, Mew Berry, have two. Why can't I have more than one? Why can't I become more powerful than you?"

Ucha chirped. "This many DNA infusions," came Ryou's voice. "I don't know what that can do to a person."

"Clearly he's lost it," said Pudding.

"Let's stop him before he hurts someone," said Berry.

"Right!" they all agreed.

"We'll see about that," said Dr. Kurogumo.

The doctor attacked. The Mews jumped out of the way, but Anzu and Momo weren't fast enough. They were Dr. Kurogumo's targets.

"No witnesses," he hissed. He grabbed Momo's ankle and pulled her out of the air. She fell and managed to flip herself around to land on her feet. Dr. Kurogumo came at her and slashed with his talons.

"Strawberry Bell Check!" shouted Ichigo.

"Loveberry Check!" shouted Berry.

The attacks repelled Dr. Kurogumo.

Pudding tried to capture him with her Pudding Rings, but failed. Zakuro managed to grab him by the leg with her whip. Dr. Kurogumo reached down and gave the whip a hard yank and threw Zakuro into Pudding.

"Zakuro!" screamed Mint.

"Pudding!" yelled Lettuce.

Lettuce and Mint attacked at the same time. Their attacks hit Dr. Kurogumo. There was a small explosion.

"Did we stop him?" asked Lettuce.

"No," said Dr. Kurogumo, dashing at the aquatic Mew.

"Apricot Blast!"

Dr. Kurogumo was knocked off his feet. He whipped around and saw Anzu holding her starter's pistol aimed at him.

"You hurt my sister," said Anzu. "I'll hurt you."

"Just try!" said Dr. Kurogumo. "You would still be just a third ranked sprinter for your junior high track team. You owe me!"

"I owe you nothing," said Anzu, taking careful aim.

Dr. Kurogumo moved faster than any of them anticipated. The girls all let out screams. Anzu tried to keep track of where the mad doctor was, but she was unable to with her eyes. It was almost too late to do anything when he came at her from her blind spot.

"Peach Blossom Storm!"

Dr. Kurogumo was sent flying. Anzu leaped out of the way and turned to see Momo holding her fan. She was balancing on a power line.

"Together, sister," said Momo.

Anzu nodded. "Together."

Berry heard their brief conversation. "Everyone, attack together!"

"Got it!" said Ichigo. "Strawberry Check!"

"Mint Echo!" yelled Mint.

"Lettuce Rush!" cried Lettuce.

"Pudding Ring Inferno!" cried Pudding.

"Zakuro Pure!" yelled Zakuro.

"Loveberry Check!" shouted Berry.

"Apricot Blast!" yelled Anzu.

"Peach Blossom Storm!" cried Momo.

All of their attacks hit at the same time. Dr. Kurogumo screeched and went flying back into a building.

"We got him!" cheered Mint.

The Mews celebrated. Momo and Anzu looked at each other.

"I don't want to fight," said Anzu.

"Me, neither," said Momo.

"What do you say? Friends, not enemies?" asked Anzu.

"Not sisters?" asked Momo.

"We're already sisters and look where we are now," said Anzu. "I'm done with the fighting. If there's one thing I've learned on this whole adventure is that we work together better than separate."

Momo thought for a long moment. "You're right." She smirked. "Who would have thought you would come up with something like that? I thought I was the smart twin." She walked away.

Anzu stood there, stunned. "Wha? You're the smart twin?" She started after Momo. "What does that make me? Chopped liver?"

The other Mews watched.

Berry shook her head. "It seems they'll need more time to get along."

Ichigo smiled. "With any luck they'll learn faster now than they would have without being turned into Mews."


	6. Chapter 6

Six weeks later, Dr. Kurogumo was being held at a research facility where scientists were trying to reverse the mutations. He was lucky he was compatible with all the DNA samples he injected himself with.

All the Mews were now working at Café Mew Mew alongside Tasuku. Masaya would pop in every few days after club practice to see Ichigo. Anzu and Momo were working there, too, and things were going well between them.

"I'm so glad they're getting along now," Berry said to Ichigo.

"Now if people would stop getting them mixed up," Ichigo said with a giggle as one of Momo's tables flagged down Anzu for something.

Momo came over and served the table and Anzu went back to what she was doing.

Tasuku came up behind Berry and put his arm around her shoulders. "Well, things are looking up."

"Yes, they are," said Berry. "We stopped a mad scientist and made some new friends. And what's better, the new friends are learning to get along with each other."

"Amazing what six weeks can do," said Ichigo.

Anzu said something to Momo and Momo said something back. Anzu frowned and an argument broke out between the twins.

Berry sighed, Ichigo face-palmed, and Tasuku said, "Guess some things don't change so quickly."


End file.
